Chilling tale of alleged child abuse in Dover: Mother claims girl was once fed only one meal every other day

Saturday

Dec 22, 2012 at 3:15 AMDec 22, 2012 at 12:40 PM

By Samantha Allensallen@fosters.com

DOVER — After allegedly admitting to abusing a 27-month-old girl, the husband of the child's mother was arraigned Friday morning where his personal recognizance bail was changed to $10,000 cash bail.

Steven Smith, 24, of 149 Portland Ave., Apt. 11, has been charged with a felony-level count of second degree assault for allegedly slapping the 2-year-old in the face. He has also been charged with two misdemeanor counts of endangering the welfare of a child — for allegedly withholding food from the girl and allowing her to hit her head into a wall — and one count of false imprisonment for allegedly taping the girl's hands to a wall as punishment.

The mother of the child, Cheryll Morgan, 22, of the same address, has been charged with simple assault, a misdemeanor, for allegedly striking her daughter in the face. Morgan also faces two misdemeanor counts of endangering the welfare of a child — police say Morgan allowed Smith to record her daughter while the girl threw a tantrum and struck her head into a wall, and also withheld food from the young girl.

Smith allegedly showed officers two videos he took on his cell phone of the child. One, titled “Funny,” showed the toddler standing in a corner as she began to cry and bang her head into the wall twice, according to police reports.

Police say the second video, titled “Tantrum,” showed the girl repeatedly banging her head into the wall while Smith could be heard off screen saying, “Come on,” and Morgan could be heard saying “Is she still doing that?” and “Honey, you are only hurting yourself right now.”

Asked why she did not intervene when her husband was recording the child in the “Tantrum” video, Morgan reportedly told police she didn't because it was “going to cause more issues.”

At the end of the video, police reported Morgan and Smith could be heard “casually” talking about the cell phone's capabilities before Smith yelled at the child, “Don't even look at Mama!” Smith allegedly told authorities after showing them the videos, he recorded them “in case something like this happened.”

At a Dec. 14 hearing in Dover Circuit Court, Morgan, also known as “Cheryl Smith,” was released on $10,000 personal recognizance bail. At his hearing on Friday, Smith had his personal recognizance bail converted to cash, pending approval from the Strafford County Community Corrections program. A transport order to Strafford County House of Corrections was included in his court files later that afternoon.

The Dover Police Department originally pursued an investigation of the alleged child abuse when officers responded to the couple's apartment for reports of a domestic disturbance on Nov. 26. Morgan and Smith reportedly turned themselves in after warrants were issued for their arrests.

On the night of Nov. 26, a responding officer noticed the toddler had bruises on her forehead. The initial report of a disturbance stemmed from a fight as to how to handle the girl's tantrums, according to police. The couple told them they believe the girl has developmental and behavioral issues, though Morgan said in a previous visit to the pediatrician, she didn't mention the girl's problem to “save face” with the doctor, she allegedly told police.

When police arrived at the Royal Oak Apartment in November, Morgan allegedly first said the child caused the injuries herself before saying Smith had inflicted the injuries on the child earlier. An officer instructed Morgan to take her daughter to Wentworth Douglass Hospital immediately.

According to court documents, in a later interview, Morgan told police she had engaged in some of the same disciplinary tactics as her husband in the past, including forcing the child to stand in a time-out corner.

In subsequent interviews, Morgan allegedly elaborated on their treatment of the child, telling officers her husband would spank her daughter until she bled, sometimes 12 times a day. She claimed Smith slapped the toddler in the face and left red marks and bruised her head, according to court documents.

Morgan allegedly told police the toddler's meals were taken away if she did not say “please” and “thank you” for the food. During one six-day span, Morgan allegedly said, the child was only given one meal per day. During another four-day period, the toddler received only one meal every other day, Morgan reportedly told police.

Morgan also allegedly said Smith put the child in time out for “way too long,” sometimes forcing her to stand in a corner for 10 or 12 hours at a time.

In his interview with authorities, Smith claimed both he and Morgan would take away the child's food and sometimes, he would be “waiting and waiting and waiting” for the toddler to ask for a meal. In one incident, Smith allegedly told police he taped the toddler's hands to a wall in their apartment because she continued to bang her head into the wall and, another time, when the child would not stand in her corner for time out, he would sit behind her and apply pressure to keep her there. The child would also be forced to sleep in the corner on the floor, without a blanket or pillow, according to the Strafford County prosecutors.

Smith reportedly explained to police he “keep(s) things bottled up” and would “lose control sometimes” while disciplining the toddler, but would sometimes stop to calm down. Morgan allegedly acknowledged in interviews with police her daughter was not safe with her or Smith and they were using excessive force.

According to WMUR reports, Smith only spoke once during his Friday hearing, to say the toddler is currently staying with a foster family “somewhere in Rochester” through the state's Division of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF).

Morgan and Smith have been instructed to have no contact with each other or the victim “whatsoever,” according to court documents, and to not go within 100 yards of each other or the child. Their bail conditions also stipulate they may not possess firearms or weapons and may not have any alcohol or drugs.

Morgan has a status conference scheduled for Jan. 11 in Dover Circuit Court and Smith will face a probable cause hearing on Jan. 2.